Disk sound-record.



.l. W. AYLSWORTH.

DISK SOUND RECORD.

APPLICATION FILED FEB-3.1910.

Patented July 13, 1915.

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Y flexible to be rolled, but is non-distortible.

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JONAS W. AYLSWORTH, OF EAST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR. TO NEW JERSEY PATENT COMPANY, OF WEST ORANGE, NEW JERSEY, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

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Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 113, 11915.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JONAS W. Amwon'rn, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of East Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have made a certain new, and iuseful Invention in Disk Sound-Records, of which the following is a description.

My invention relates to the manufacture of disk sound records, and my objects are theproduction of a record in the form of an exceedingly thin elastic disk which may be rolled and conveniently sent through the mails, or filed in a suitable portfolio.

My invention also permits me to form a record from materials well suited for record surfaces, but which materials cannot advantageously be used in the ordinary construction of disk records, because of the cost of the same. Heretofore, phonographic records of the disk type have been made in relatively thick disks comprising the record surface and a backing for the same. The backing and the record surface are sometimes made of the same material and sometimes of different materials. Such records are not, adapted to be conveniently sent Ehrough the mails or to be filed in a portolio.

My improved record comprises-preferably a thin flexible sheet of cellular texture, such as paper or fabric having a hard elastic surface formed thereon of sufiicient plasticity when hot to take a permanent impression of the record matrix by pressure. Or, my record may take the form of an exceedingly thin disk formed of a hard substance, which by virtue of its thinness is sufficiently A record such as that described is adapted to be played on a machine wherein the permanent table or support for the record forms the backing for the record when used. A phonograph having a permanent record support with which such a record is adapted to be used, has been invented by me and is described in application Serial No. 541,763, filed on even date herewith, upon which application U. S. Patent No. 1,062,579 has been granted. I

Attention is hereby directed to the accompanying drawings forming part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 represents a cross sectional view through my improved record, the manner in which the same may be rolled in either directlon being diagrammatically indicated. Fig. 2 represents in perspective the manner in which the record may be filed in a portfolio; and Fig. 3 is a pers ective view of my improved record rolledmto position to be sent through the mail.

I prefer to form my record of a thin elastic yielding backing indicated by 1 in the drawings, and an elastic non-stretching record surface indicated by 2 in the drawings.

The backing 1 is preferably in the form of with a thin surface or film of a hard elastic material 2, which by virtue of its thinness is sufficiently flexible for the objects sought for in the invention.

- Materials well adapted for the record surface are films of cellulose esters, such as celluloid, cellulose acetate, and structureless cellulose, casein film. and condensation prodnets of phenols and formaldehyde or other substance containing the methylene radical CH Such films may be formed directly on the flexible backing 1, or they may be separately formed and cemented to the backing during the pressing of the record. The record so formed will have a record face which is flexible and hard, but which will not stretch or distort, and a flexible elastic yielding backing so constructed that when the record is bent or rolled, the backing will suitably stretch or compress. Thus, when the record is bent in such a way that the record face is concave, as shown at 3 in Fig. 1, the record face 2 will not distort, but the backing will stretch sufliciently to maintain its position. When the record is bent or rolled so that the record face becomes convex, as shown at 4 in Fig. 1, the backing will compress sufliciently to maintain its position,

while the record face 2 does not stretch or distort. Thus, my record might be described ord surface, and a thin elastic yielding support or backing adapted to be held flat during reproduction by a suitable specially designed means. .My invention also comprises broadly a sound record formed of a thin disk of a hard substance, which by virtue of its thinness is flexible, but cannot be distorted by rolling or bending. Such a disk might be formed of an exceedingly thin sheet of celluloid or other of the materials for record surfaces noted above, which record might be used without backing when supported by a record supporting table of the character described in my application Serial No. 541,763, referred to, but which could not be played when supported by the usual type of talking machine turn table. If the record surface is formed of a phenolformaldehyde condensation product, the same is preferably a final condensation prodnot such as described in my application Serial No. 496,060, filed May 14, 1909, upon which U. S. Patent No. 1,102,630 has been granted. As pointed out in said application, the reaction between phenol or its recognized equivalents and formaldehyde or its polymers or other recognized equivalents produces condensation products of various degrees of hardness and fusibility. By the reaction between these substances in proper portions, it is possible to form a condensation product which is fusible and soluble in common solvents and in which there is no excess of free formaldehyde or its equivalent. When formaldehyde or its equivalent is added to the resinized phenol or phenol resin so produced and the mass is heated to a temperature suitable for the reaction, an infusible final hardened condensation product is formed, which is chemically inert and insoluble in common solvents. Such a final condensation product may be made sufiiciently plastic when heated to take a record impression from a suitable matrix, this plasticity being given to the product by the addition of an element which I term in said application Serial No. 496,060 a final product solvent element. By final product solvent element, I include substances which will dis solve the ultimate condensation product or combine therewith at baking temperature, render it plastic at such temperature, and remain as a part of the product in the condition of solid solution. Examples of substances of this class are naphthalene and some of its derivatives, such as nitro and chloro derivatives. Naphthalene tends to volatilize at ordinary temperatures when alone. It does not, however, volatilize perceptibly at ordinary temperatures when used in proper proportions in solid solution with the ultimate phenolic condensation product. Thus, the record impression may be given to the record surface of phenol aldehyde final condensation product after the final reaction in the substance has taken place. Or, if desired, the final reaction of the substance may be allowed to take place in the mold during the pressing of the record therein.

In Fig. 2 of the drawin s, I have shown a portfolio 5 wherein recor s of the excessive thinness disclosed may be filed for convenience in keeping the same. This portfolio is of common character and is adapted to file a record bet ween each sheet. As shown in the drawing, the edge of a record 6 is held in place at each corner of the sheet 7 of the portfolio by means of the flap 8 over which the edge of the record 6 projects.

A record rolled into shape to be transmitted through the mail is shown in Fig. 3. A record such as described can be merely rolled and tied or otherwise secured in place, addreslsed and stamped and sent through the mai The invention claimed herein is limited to a flexible record, the article disclosed being more broadly claimed in an application of Aylsworth and Aiken, Serial No. 861,038, filed September 10, 1914.

Having now described my invention, what I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patexit is as follows:

1. As a new article of manufacture, a

sound record comprising a flexible disk formed of an elastic yieldin backing and an elastic flexible record sur ace of a hard infusible condensation product of a phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, substantially as described. 2. As a new article of manufacture, a sound record comprising a flexible backing and a flexible surface portion formed of a final condensation product of a phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, said surface portion being sufiiciently plastic when heated to take a record impression from a record matrix, substantially as described.

3. As a new article of manufacture, a sound record comprising a flexible backing formed of a thin sheet of cellular material, the pores and interstices of which are filled with an elastic yielding material to render said sheet permanently extensible and compressible, and a flexible record surface of a hard infusible and non-stretching material which is non-plastic when cold, substantially as described.

4. As a newarticle of manufacture, a sound record comprising a flexible backing formed of a thin sheet of cellular material, the pores and interstices of which are completely filled with. an elastic yielding material, and a flexible record surface of a hard infusible condensation product of a phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, substantially as described.

5. As a new article of manufacture, a sound record comprising a thin flexible disk having a surface portion formed of a hard infusible. condensation product of a phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, said product being sufliciently plastic when heated to take a record impression from a record matrix, substantially as described.

6. As a new article of manufacture, a sound record comprising a flexible backing formed of a thin sheet of cellular material, the pores and interstices of which are filled with an elastic yielding material to render said sheet permanently extensible and compressible, and a flexible surface portion formed of a final condensation product of a phenol and a substance containing the methylene radical, said surface portion beingsufliciently plastic when heated to take a record impression from a record matrix, substantially as described.

7. As a new article of manufacture, a flexible sound record comprising a flexible backing and a flexible surface portion formed of a final hardened phenolic condensation product containing a final product solvent element, substantially as described.

8. As a new article of manufacture, a thin flexible sound record having a surface portion formed of a final hardened phenolic condensation product containing a final product solvent element, substantially as described.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a flexible sound record comprising a flexible backing and a flexible surface portion formed of a final hardened phenolic condensation product containing a non-volatile final product solvent element, substantially as described.

This specification signed and witnessed this 2d day of February 1910.

JONAS W. AYLSWORTH.

Witnesses:

DYER SMITH, ANNA R. KLEHM. 

